Cool Turtles Say, "I Got Laid at Tortuguero!"
Written: Jan 17 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Natural life at its finest...
Cons: Becoming popular as it becomes easier to reach...
The Bottom Line: Tortuguero is one of those parks that gives Costa Rica its international reputation as a place where life starts, ends, and takes on meaning...
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
Turtles sure do have some wicked species names, don't they? Leatherback. Hawksbill. Loggerhead. Man! Just the names are cool! Of course the critters themselves are pretty cool too, what with their lifespans of 80 or maybe even 100 years, not to mention their gusto for riding the undersea waves in the fast moving currents that we all chuckled over in the cinematic masterpiece, Finding Nemo.
Turtles are smart too. I know from personal experience that procreating on the beach is definitely a whole boatload of fun, and turtles know that too. If they didn't, we wouldn't have one of Costa Rica's most fascinating ecological parks: Parque Nacional Tortuguero.
Tortoguero is all about helping turtles reproduce.
Every year, many species of adult sea turtles come up out of the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea on the shores of Tortuguero beach and dig nests where they'll lay dozens of eggs. They'll cover their eggs with sand, then leave them to incubate under the warm tropical sunshine. Predators will poke around the beach looking for tasty little eggs or baby turtles, and those eggs and babies that manage to escape the notice of everything from vultures to roving dogs, will eventually dig their way out of the sand and mosey out to the waves for their first swim.
How they ever manage to find long-gone Mom and Dad is quite beyond my knowledge, but I would imagine that they have some kind of genetic roadmap implanted in them --- kind of like the uncanny ability of a Republican congressman to sniff out an illegal payoff. Turtles are some amazing dudes, but they're just the proverbial tip of the iceberg when it comes to wildlife in Tortuguero.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side...
Aside from the raw, undeveloped beauty of the beaches along Tortuguero's shores, the park also includes a large area of wetland coastal jungles, and a navigable network of canals and rivers. This backcountry is home to a wide range of species. There are big cats in here --- especially jaguars --- a ton of different kinds of slithery things (our guide said they've recorded well over 100 species of reptile living in the park --- everything from 20-foot long crocodiles to those brilliantly colored little poisonous dart frogs that kids love to watch in zoos and aquariums).
Bird watchers flock to the park because so many shore birds flock here. As you pass through the canals in the park's backwaters, you'll see everything from lowly sea gulls to brilliant macaws to magnificent herons spreading their wings in graceful flight.
The slow-moving rivers and channels are also home to those lovably fat little blobs we call manatees. The Caribbean manatee is said to be on the verge of extinction and Tortuguero is one of the few protected habitats where the slow moving critters stand some chance of dodging those fast moving sport boats that are killing them off in other parts of the world. Lots of crocodiles and caimans live along the shores too, and our guide said there are at least two very lethal species of water-dwelling snakes in the channels too (though he might have just been saying that so we wouldn't try jumping out of the boat to cool off with a little swim). He also told us that there is a fish in there called the gar, which is considered a prehistoric species that lived back in the age of the dinosaurs (just like Dick Cheney).
Up in the trees, it's fairly easy to spot a few sloths. Our guide said they just hang out in the same place for so long because they chew leaves that are naturally narcotic, so they're always bumbling, drugged out doofuses (just like Rush Limbaugh). There's several kinds of monkeys living in the jungles of Tortuguero, and it wasn't too hard for us to spot the group of big howler monkeys making a racket above us. I asked the guide why they howl, and he said it's because they're Houston Texans fans. Youch!
The Park Experience...
The park itself is big. Almost 19,000 hectares --- that's about 47,000 acres (or roughly 75 square miles) for those of y'all who slept through that math class where metrics was explained (like I did --- loved the Z's!).
There's basically three things to see here:
* the beach: turtle nests specifically, stunningly beautiful raw Caribbean shores generally, lined by dense jungles as far as the eye can see: bring the sunscreen and some bottled water, you'll need it.
* the jungle: green stuff, more green stuff, plus some brown stuff in between....I think heard more about ferns and mosses and cypresses and orchids and stuff like that to last me an eternity. Not that I have anything against green stuff, you understand: bring the DEET, you'll need it.
* the rivers and channels: water, water, everywhere, and not a beer to drink (except back at the lodge, where they still cost about a buck, even out in the jungles...): bring the camera, you'll need it.
Speaking of a buck, somewhere along the line, you'll be asked to cough up US$7 for a one-day admission permit or $10 for a multi-day permit. This seems to be the going price these days at just about all the Costa Rica National Parks.
Do the tour, and you'll spend a couple hours cruising through the canals, gawking at the birds and the monkeys and the sloths and the gators and whatever else crosses your path. You'll do a hike through the jungle too, and probably won't actually see that many critters, but you'll see a ton of plants. I was surprised at just how many kinds of brightly colored flowers there are living beneath all that greenery. And you'll walk on the beach: probably for quite a long time. Depending on the season, you might do another walk on the beach at night (we didn't because there wouldn't have been much to see....which brings me to my next point....when would you see something?)
When to Visit...
Most Costa Rican parks are nice places to visit no matter what the season, but visitors to Tortuguero probably want to actually see the turtles coming out of the sea to dig their nests and lay eggs on the beach. If that's critical to you, visit the park in August, September, or early October.
I was there in mid December, and the turtle nesting season was pretty much over. The last of the younglings pretty much head into the season in time for their Thanksgiving holidays, and by the time I got there, all that was left were big holes all over the place where the giant turtles had dug in and lots of litter from the egg shell casings.
Early autumn....that's the time to get the most bang out of your Tortuguero trip.
Logistics...How to Get There & What It Will Cost...
Parque Nacional Tortuguero is located in the northeast corner of Costa Rica, just south of the border with Nicaragua. No roads enter the park and access is by boat only.
Most of the travel guides tell you that to get to Tortuguero, you need to go to Limon and arrange boat transportation to Tortuguero. Most of the tour companies though will take travelers by van or bus through the backcountry to a place called Noir (which is essentially just a dock on the river out in the middle of nowhere), where they'll load onto boats for just the last, fairly short leg of the trip. There's also an easier way for the well-heeled set: take a plane. Some of the lodges and tour companies run small private or charter planes direct to the village of Tortuguero.
If you're rolling your own trip, you can also arrange a flight direct to Tortuguero village from San Jose: the only airline making the trip is Nature Air. The planes are small prop jobs (the largest seats 19) and they leave from San Jose's Tobias Bolaņos Airport (not SJO - Juan Santamaria International Airport) at about 6am and cost US$68 each way. See their web site: www.natureair.com (To my knowledge, SANSA does not go into Tortuguero, though they can get you to the nearby Barra Colorado National Park).
Most folks though go with transportation arranged by their hotel or through a tour company. In my opinion, this will be the easiest and most economical way to go.
I did my trip through Jungle Tom Safaris and highly recommend them. The service was friendly, the meals were good, and boat drivers and naturalists very skilled at spotting the wildlife for us novices and taking us into interesting points within the park. With rates starting at as little as US$119 per person for two nights and three days (including pickup and drop-off before and after the trip to almost any hotel in San Jose), Jungle Tom easily beats the pants off any deal you'll be able to roll on your own. Other tour guides will probably give you similar bang for the buck. Jungle Tom's web site is: www.jungletomsafaris.com
Because most of the cost in terms of both time and money is spent in getting to Tortuguero, it's best to do at least a 2 day trip. One-day trips do exist, but it would be an uncomfortably full day, IMHO.
There are several lodges in and near the village of Tortuguero where travelers will stay. Accomodations are usually more rustic and simple than you'd get in a city hotel, so don't expect four-star luxury, but you should expect clean, servicable rooms with hot showers. Some do have pools, bars, and restaurants.
To find tour guides and lodges, you could just search Google for "tortuguero costa rica turtle" and you'll get some good starting points, or you could just jump in at a site like: www.tortugueroinfo.com
Here are a few lodges that I know about that have web sites:
Turtle Beach Lodge (www.turtlebeachlodge.com)
Samoa Lodge (www.samoalodge.com)
Pachira Lodge (www.pachiralodge.com)
A Picture is Worth A Couple Words...The Beauty Pageant...
Here's a few snapshots from my trip into Tortuguero National Park (taken December 2005):
http://www.tiogringo.com/tortuguero.html
Bottom Line...HIGHLY Recommended!
If you love nature, you'll love Tortuguero. It's remote, it's raw, it's a shocking assault on the eyes with stunning beauty around every bend of the river or every cove of the beach. It's a rare gem in today's world. A fabulous Caribbean beach that, thanks to the foresight of one driven biologist in the late 1950s, remains a protected refuge where endangered sea turtles can lay eggs as nature protected, and where future generations of sea turtles might also get laid. Getting laid is what life itself is all about...especially in Tortuguero.
Pura vida!
Closely Related Reading...Pimpin' the Links...
If you liked this review, you might like a few other reviews of Costa Rica's naturally green eco destinations...
* Braulio Carrillo National Park
* Irazu Volcano National Park
* Monteverde Cloud Forest
* Overview of Costa Rica National Parks
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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